God's Health Plan

Scripture: Daniel 1:1-21, Matthew 4:23, John 10:10

Does the Bible talk about health? Is it something important for Christians to consider? There is a clear connection between how we eat and how we leave. The story of Daniel not defiling himself sets the stage for being responsible for our bodies. Our spiritual perceptions are fogged by drugs, alcohol, and poor living habits.

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Note:This is a verbatim transcript of the live broadcast. It is presented as spoken.

Question and Answer: Karen Batchelor

KB—Question and Answer #1: Our first question is: so why does Satan insist on attacking God after he admits that Jesus is Lord?

DB: You remember in our previous study we talked about the millennium. And after that moment when the Bible says every knee bows and they confess that Jesus is Lord, Satan then tries to rouse the forces again to attack the city of God. Well, he never does succeed in doing that. Obviously, you can’t (uh) overthrow the empire of God. A matter of fact, the Bible tells us that it comes to the place where they then turn on the devil.

It’s a very interesting story because there’s a number of battles in the Bible where the enemies of God’s people turned on one another. In the battle of Gideon; the Midianites, the Amalekites, the people of the East, turned on one another. In the battle of Jehoshaphat; the Edomites, the Moabites, the Emmanites, they turned on one another. And at the very end you read it says the kings turn upon the woman when Babylon falls. And in I believe it’s in Ezekiel 28, it tells us (uh) they that look upon thee, they will look upon thee narrowly. And it seems like Satan, he’s--you know the Bible says in Revelation chapter 12, he has come down with great wrath because he knows he has short time. So yeah, the devil just can’t change, he’ll try to rouse the forces but at that point they’re gonna turn on him.

KB: And he just keeps insisting on doing it because he still doesn’t want to accept God as…

KB—Question and Answer #2: That’s right. Pastor Doug, why do you--what do you think what have happened if Eve would have eaten the fruit and Adam didn’t? (Audience laughs)

DB: You know I always get this question and it’s a very--it’s a hypothetical question but we have it frequently. I suspect that probably her credit cards would have been taken away (Audience laughs) and she just couldn’t shop after that. Or you don’t know I mean some have wondered—well, maybe God would have made Him a new wife, I don’t know. (Uh) When--whenever you say what if, we start second guessing what God would have done and I don’t know. We’re all in this together now, right?

KB: We are.

DB: So…

KB—Question and Answer #3: We’re gonna do it together. My question is regarding the flag in the sanctuary. I love my country and respect our flag, but if we’ve really believe that the US is the second beast in Revelation, should we display the flag in our sanctuary? Isn’t our sanctuary God’s holy domain? Did God tell Moses to have flags displayed in His sanctuary?

DB: Well, in prophecy we have learned yes, America is the second beast, and the day is coming when it will speak as a dragon and prevent us from worshiping freely. But at this time it’s the laws of this country that give us the freedom to do what we’re doing here. And the Bible talks about respecting the law of the land, it talks about respecting the government and the king, and it’s a symbol that we are a law-abiding people, and we are very thankful for the freedoms that we have now, amen? So I find no dilemma there.

KB: I think it is just like I tell the boys if the (uhm) the law isn’t breaking God’s moral commandment, His Ten Commandments, then we can go ahead and do it.

DB: There’s no moral dilemma in (uh) having an American flag in the sanctuary. And you know if it offends the congregation somewhere, well, there’s no law that you have to have it there take it out.

KB—Question and Answer #4: Alright. On day two you said that we Christians who obey God have no need to fear about the future and that we would be persecuted, (uh) protected, I’m sorry. In Revelation 13:18 it talks about killing and in Revelation 24 it talks about being beheaded for the witness of Jesus. Both those are in the context of not worshiping the beast and his image. Am I correct in thinking that there will be many Christians killed during this great time of trouble?

DB: No. You are correct in thinking there will be many Christians killed and persecuted for their faith prior to what we call the great time of trouble. There are Christians who are dying for their faith tonight in different parts of the world. And (uh) when you look in the Old Testament, when the ten plagues fell on ancient Egypt that was synonymous with when the seven plagues fall on God’s people or in the world in the last days. Did God protect the Israelites when the ten plagues fell on ancient Egypt? Yes. And He will protect us during that time.

There is something called the small time of trouble that leads up to that. That’s the period of time when you will not be able to buy or sell, and Christians are gonna be persecuted and will be brought before kings and rulers, and be preaching the gospel. (Uh) There will be a great deal of persecution at that time but once probation closes—when the door of the ark closed and Noah was inside and the lost were outside life went on for seven more days, right? But they couldn’t touch Noah then, could they?

So during the time of the plagues, the great time of trouble, God’s people will be protected then. There--you know one of the reasons God allows Christians to suffer is that others might be converted by our witness. Once probation closes, nobody will be converted by our witness cause those that are saved are saved and those that are lost are lost, does that make sense?

KB—Question and Answer #5: Alright. I’m a bit curious as to why Moses changed the words in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 28, he used the word “remember,” then in Deuteronomy 5:12, he used the word “keep.” Can you please explain?

DB: Well, first of all, there is not a big conflict between the word “remember” and “keep.” (Uh) In Exodus 20, God is reciting verbatim the Ten Commandments; it’s God speaking it. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses—the w--the book Deuteronomy means repeating of the law. Moses is repeating a lot of their experience; and he summarizes some things, and he expands on some things, even as he is verbally repeating the Ten Commandments. I supposed he did it all from memory. And so he was probably admonishing them: remember to keep it. He’s not reading from the scroll when he (uh) gives that sermon of Deuteronomy. So it’s like when a pastor sometimes abbreviates a passage to make a point. (Sound effects starts) That’s all I think Moses was doing.

(Sound effects stops)

Sermon Questions: Douglas Batchelor

We have a very exciting lesson tonight—one of my favorites—and it’s dealing with the subject of health. And I know some of you are thinking, “Aw, Pastor Doug, you’re pulling a fast one on us. We came to a prophecy seminar, what in the world could health have to do with prophecy and prophecy with health”? Well you stay with me and I’ll try and make that point.

We have a lesson that corresponds with a lot of the information you’ll be sharing; it’s called, “God’s Free Healthcare Plan.” It’s kind a cute; it’s got a picture of a couple of doctors that say: “Will work for food.” And (uh) if (uh) you want to know more about that then you can request a lesson, many of our sites that are participating, we know that you’ve already ordered these.

And we like to start with an amazing fact. The lesson tonight: “God’s Health Plan.” The amazing fact is about a very unusual tortoise. Back in 1835, Charles Darwin, with the HMS Beagle, he went to Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos and among the many (uh) studies that he did, and the experiments that he made, and species he collected, he collected three tortoises. He records they were about as big as dinner plates at that time, 1835. Brought them with him back on the Beagle to England where they were on display. He named them Tom, Dick, and Harry. And (uh) they didn’t fare very well in the damp, foggy, England climate and so he felt sorry for them.

And a few years later he gave them to a friend who took them on a whaling ship all the way to Australia where they were in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens, oh for about a hundred years, I guess. (Uh) During that time (uh) Tom and Dick died from unknown causes but Harry lived on and had a lot of adventures, no doubt. (Uh) Soldiers would come back and paint his shell the color of the flag from various wars, (uh) sometimes he had to tolerate people riding him, (uh) there’s still scars on his shell where sometimes people get drunk and they’d put out their cigarettes on his shell, and were weren’t always very nice but somehow Harry survived.

During that time the guards were concerned that he was the last Galapagos tortoise they would have and so they obtained a female and tried to get Harry to mate. For a hundred years, nothing happened. (Audience laughs) Then they decided to check Harry out and found out he was a Harriot. (Audience laughs) And they felt really bad for forcing those unnatural relationships on him for so long. (Audience laughs)

Few months ago, Karen and I were in Australia. We went to the Australian Zoo, some of you have heard of Steve R--Erwin’s Zoo. And that’s where (uh) Harriot is now; hundred and seventy three years old, I checked this out before I shared it with you, the oldest living creature on earth. And they say if she (uh) takes care of herself, works on the treadmill, (Audience laughs) that (uh) she could live another 10 or 20 years, they don’t know.

But one thing I do know she’s a vegetarian. (Audience laughs) I’m gonna talk a little bit about that tonight. Now you’d be surprised but in the Bible it does talk about what you eat makes the difference. And in the last days it does have an influence on the way that we respond to the Holy Spirit.

The book of Daniel begins with an interesting story. Some of the greatest prophetic messages are in the book of Daniel; apocalyptic messages, and dreams, and story of great (uh) Christian heroics, so to speak. And it begins with the children of Israel being carried off by King Nebuchadnezzar to the capital of Babylon, this great empire. When he carried them off, he selected, handpicked, four young men who, he believed, had the potential to (uh) serve him in the palace; they were considered to be bright and intelligent. He said that they would be fed from the Babylonian cafeteria, go through three years of studies, and then he would pick the best of them to serve as sort of emissaries and ambassadors, go between, between the people he had conquered.

And (uh) there was a problem though. These three Hebrew young men: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; sometimes known as Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-nego; that was their--those were their Babylonian names. They knew there were things on the Babylonian menu they could not eat. And to refuse to eat the food that the king had provided could be interpreted as an insult. But they told Ashpenaz, the prince of the eunuchs, they said we can’t eat that there’s stuff in there that God says it’s defiling that we read in God’s word we cannot eat and they refused.

You can read in Daniel chapter 1 verse 8. “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat nor with the wine which he drank.” He said I’m not gonna eat the Babylonian food and the Babylonian drink. And they say, oh, this is the good stuff, it’s the best in the kingdom.

You know it’s interesting to me that sometimes what’s considered the food of the rich is the worst food in the world. When I was the poorest I ate the best. (Uh) When I lived with my dad in the mansion we’d go out, we’d eat escargot, snails, turtle steak, frog’s legs—they’re greasy, creepy stuff. (Uh) I did when I lived up in the mountains I did eat rattle snake once or twice and (uh) ate squirrel, not--no, just couple of times. (Audience laughs) You know what it tastes like? Squirrel and snake! (Laughs) (Audience laughs) That’s right.

And so Daniel said I’m not gonna eat the Babylonian food. And remember, what is food represent? The bread of God is the word of God, the Babylonian food is the food of the devil, so to speak, and he wouldn’t eat that. And he said give us a test. Daniel 1 verse 12. “Prove your servants, I beseech thee, ten days;” give us a ten-day test, “let us have pulse to eat,” that was just like vegetable stew, “and water to drink.” “And at the end of ten days,” of testing them—just ten days of eating this very simple diet, the Bible says at the end of that ten days, “their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children,” the other people in this college, “that did eat the portion of the king’s food.”

Now you might be thinking, “Well, I don’t wanna be fatter in flesh.” You have to keep in mind, they were captives that had just come across the desert and they were emaciated, and (uh) you know when you eat a good diet, if you’re overweight you’ll lose weight, if you’re underweight you’ll gain weight. If you live the right kind of right--lifestyle you’ll be right where you’re supposed to be.

And then it goes on to say, “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding the king inquired of them he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his all of his realm.” He found Daniel, Hananaiah, Mishael, Azariah, ten times smarter than all of the wise men in Babylon and here they’re strapping whippersnappers, they’re still just you know in their late teens or early twenties.

Is there a connection between how clear you think and what you eat? And there’s definitely a connection between your lifestyle and how long you’ll live. Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. Interesting that this book of prophecy would begin by setting the stage saying they resolved not to defile their temples with that which was considered unclean food. God blessed them with great intelligence, (uh) resolve, and long life. Amen? There’s a reason for that, and please don’t forget, does it matter prophetically, what we eat?

Sin is in the world today because somebody ate something they weren’t supposed to eat. Now the reason I have to really press this point is because I run into Christians all the time, probably the vast majority of them, they think that if you’re spiritual enough it doesn’t matter what you do with your body. That is a lie of the devil. Revelation calls it the doctrine of the Nicolatians.

The spirit and the bo--body are not connected and so you just serve and love God with your spirit, it doesn’t matter what you do with your body, it doesn’t matter what you eat, that’s a lie. God cannot be mocked. What you sow you’re going to reap. And there are not enough preachers out there telling people what the Bible clearly says about the connection between the choices we make regarding health and our spiritual perceptions.

It does make a difference why else do you think the devil is working so hard to get the young people of this generation foggy with drugs? Because there’s so much potential there it terrifies him, and he knows that if he can anesthesize (anesthetize) them and cloud their minds with drugs and alcohol that they just can’t think straight. And it’s hard to appreciate spiritual truth when your mind is fuzzy.

Alright, let’s go into our lesson on the subject of health and you’ll find that (uh) hope you take notes if you have a pencil with you and you don’t have a lesson and you wanna jot these down. Also remember there’ll be a lot of information for those who are watching, at the prophecy code website, download the reference sheet, it’s free, and you’ll have a number of scriptures, and I’m sharing, plus some others beside.

And let’s look at some of the answers. III John chapter 2: “Beloved, I wish above all things that you might prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.” Here the apostle is making a connection between spirit prosperity and physical prosperity. He said I want you to prosper physically just like you prosper spiritually. Are they equally important to Jesus?

Look at how Christ spent His time. Matthew 4:23. “Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” You know some have wondered if Jesus spent more time healing than He did actually preaching. Because when you line it up in the Bible He just was healing everywhere He went. And the healing was an entering wedge for Him. Once people saw that they--Jesus cared about how they felt they then were willing to listen to what He said. And this is what real medical missionary work is all about.

A lot of the most successful missionaries, David Livingstone and others, they’d trained in medicine, they went to heal people’s bodies, and then they worked on their souls. But how are we, as a church, going to work on people’s souls when our bodies are sick because of bad practices? There’s (uh) a really strange (uh) irony that (uh) the church is demonstrating.

John chapter 10 verse 10. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have more abundantly.” And at the time I obtained this picture I understand that man was 80 years old. I think his name was Banana Jack, skiing, oh barefoot, you can’t see it, yeah, snow skis. He obviously has no dentures. (Audience laughs) God wants us to have abundant life, amen?

Now very simply you are a combination of a spiritual person as well as a physical organism. Your body is operated by this two and a half pound approximately, electrochemical computer called the “brain.” It’s interesting that all the nerves in your body end in your brain but your brain has no nerves. I--it’s, (uh) you can operate on a person’s brain when they’re wide awake if you can get to it without hurting ‘em and they won’t feel it. And (uh) the way that Lord speaks to us is through the brain. You can loose your foot, and your hand, and your arms, and your legs, and God can still speak to you and save you, but not if you lose your head.

A friend of mine, some of you have heard of Joni Eareckson. (Uh) She called me a couple of years ago to pray with me over something and (uh) she, as you know, is paralyzed from the neck down. And thought her life was over—16 years old—in a diving accident, and yet she’s had an international impact for Christ because of her relationship with the Lord and her conversion takes place from here up. And if you talk to a person who is struggling with your health it seems like it’s just about everybody these days.

(Uh) This message starts to make some practical sense. God wants our heads to be clear because it’s your head that tells your hands what to do. It is through the mind that the devil tempts us and it is through the mind that the Lord saves us. That’s--we’re commanded to love the Lord with all of our mind. Well, one way you do that is by taking care of it. The reason that (uh) God gives you legs is to carry your brain around, (Audience laughs) that’s right. The reason that you’ve got arms is to do the beating of the brain. This is the holy of holies and what you eat and feed your organism, how you treat your body will affect the oxygen, the blood flow, the electrical snapping of your brain and how sharp you are, makes a big difference.

DB—Sermon Question #2: Number two. What did God, I’m sorry, why did God give health rules to His people?

Several verses: Deuteronomy 6:24. “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes for our good always that He might preserve us alive.” Any of the health laws in the Bible are there, ultimately, for your good. Some people think, “Ahh…those health laws, they’re restrictive.” You know God will withhold no good thing from His people. The only thing He wants to keep from us is that which is going to hurt us, and if we would just trust Him?

Furthermore, Exodus 23 verse 25. “And ye shall serve the Lord your God and He will bless thy bread and thy water and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” And God quite literally did that you know. After walking with the Lord for forty years through the wilderness, that generation that was eating the bread from heaven, and drinking the water out of the rock, and following God’s principles of health and sanitation, the Bible record is in Psalm 105:37, when they entered into the Promised Land Moses declared there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

Can you imagine? T--there may have been by that time, there was 900 thousand soldiers. You do the math and there may have been three million of them by the time they crossed over into the Promised Land. Can you imagine a city with three million people and the hospital empty? Nobody is sick? God says He wants us to have abundant life. Do you think Jesus wants us to be healthy? If not, why did He spend so much time healing people? He does want you to have health.

DB—Sermon Question #3: Number three. Do God’s health rules have anything to do with eating and drinking?

Answer, I Corinthians chapter 10:31. “Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Now why would (uh) Paul command this if it was not possible to eat and drink to the glory of God? You know that also means it is possible to not eat and drink to the glory of God, am I right?

And some people they’re not eating and drinking to the glory of God. Isaiah 55:2 says, “Eat that which is good.” And it goes on says, “Why do you eat that which is not bread”? In other words it’s not real food. And so much of what’s eating these days is not even really food. No nutritional value. Eat what is good. Why would God command us to do that? Why would He plead with us to do that except that we’re eating what is bad? Am I right?

DB—Sermon Question #4: Number four. Why did God give, or what did God give people to eat? Answer? Oh when He created them and provided the perfect diet in the beginning?

Answer. Genesis 1:29. In the--in the beginning what was the original diet for man that the Lord had designed for our bodies? The Bible says: “God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, and in every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat.” And the word meat there means food. It’s like you would say the meat of a nut.

In the beginning the original diet for man before sin was fruits, grains, and nuts. God designed our bodies for that diet. If you buy an automobile, new from the manufacturer, in the glove box is usually an owner’s manual. If you wanna know how to best maintain that vehicle the engineers and designers know how it runs, they know what it needs, and how to prolong the life of that vehicle, its maintenance needs. They understand that, it’s--you’d follow their manual.

Who designed the human body? God did. He has a manual here that if we would follow these principles we can not only have a better life but abundant, longer life, amen? Now after sin, man could no longer eat from the tree of life. Notice how much eating has to do with the beginning. He said you can eat from this, you can eat from that, when you disobey, you can’t eat from that anymore, now you’re gonna eat this. You think God doesn’t care what we eat? Of course, He does!

Then He added vegetables to their diet. I don’t know there may have been some enzymes in the tree of life that they were now missing with just the fruits, grains, and nuts. Some children probably think vegetables were a punishment, along with the other curses with sin. (Laughs) (Audience laughs) But God then added vegetables to the diet and I’m glad He did, and usually the herb of the field.

D--do you all know the difference is between a fruit and a vegetable? Let me quiz you: apple; fruit or vegetable? (Audience answers “fruit”) Okay, that’s an easy one. Spaghetti? (Audience laughs) No, just teasing. Eggplant? Fruit! People often make—tomato? Fruit--good, you got that one right. Zucchini? Fruit!

Let me tell you what the trick is: anything that is the fruit of the blossom is the fruit; any other part of the plant: the leaf, the flower, the stalk, the root; vegetable, okay? So when you give your kids zucchini and they say “Oh, I don’t want vegetables,” say, “No, problem, it’s not a vegetable, it’s a fruit.” (Audience laughs) Tell them it’s a green banana. (Laughs) (Audience laughs)

You know I think it’s interesting that some of you have heard of a place called Shangri-la. How many of you have heard of Shangri-la? (Uh) It’s actually (uh) a phrase that came from a famous book by James Hilton called, “Lost Horizon.” And the book is actually based upon a little bit of reality. In the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains there’s the Hansa Valley. How many of you have heard of the Hansa?

And these people have been studied for years because they have some of the greatest longevity of any people in the world. They live up where the air is very thin and very clean. They drink water that comes down from these melting glaciers way up 25,000 feet up in the mountains. They get plenty of exercise and fresh air climbing up and down the steps where they do their terrace farming. They principally eat (uh) nuts and apricots, their--they eat fruits and vegetables through the year. There is virtually nobody wearing glasses in their community, most of them have 20/20 vision until their 80s. Very few hearing problems, no diabetes, no gout, no heart disease, no ulcers—you’re all thinking about calling the travel agent after this program, right? (Audience laughs)

It’s--they’re following the natural remedies. Because when the people from Hansa, when some of the young people come and move to like America and adapt the typical American lifestyle, they started coming down with all of the same diseases and problems that (uh) we struggle with. In our sophisticated country medical bills make up for the better part of our economy, isn’t that right? It’s one of the biggest problems that we’re facing these days.

DB—Sermon Question #5: Number five. What items are specifically mentioned by God as being unclean and forbidden?

Now I’m just gonna tell you straight, the Bible does not say you cannot eat meat. (Uh) God made a provision, where? Because of the hardness of our arteries He allowed us to meat some meat. He--sorry, that was a pun. (Audience laughs) Remember Jesus said (uh) cause of the hardness of our hearts He made a provision for divorce, never was His original plan.

If you wanna know what God’s original plan is you look at the Garden of Eden and you can look at heaven. Are we gonna be chasing chickens around in heaven, cutting off their heads, and making nuggets out of them? (Audience laughs) I don’t think so. The Bible says there’s no more death there. But I need to tell you straight the Bible does say that you can eat meat but you’re not supposed to eat the things that God calls an abomination that are unclean. And by the way, there is no place in the Bible that God calls something an abomination in one place that He calls clean somewhere else. Once He declares something to be an abomination it is a forever abomination.

Now, He says, Leviticus 11:3. Among the mammals there needed to be two criteria: “Whatsoever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the mammals,” that had to have a cloven hoof and chew the cud, not one of those things but both. (Uh) You know a rabbit chews the cud but he’s got a pull, it’s unclean. Some people say—what? If you eat the rabbit in the months that has an r, or in the months that doesn’t have an r, I forget what it is but who--who would want to have to worry about the months where the worms are, right? You’re not supposed to eat bunnies.

And (uh) pig it’s got a cloven hoof but doesn’t chew the cud and they’re scavengers. And now you know among the things that God said were unclean of course are camel, and rats, and buzzards, and skunks, but most of you pro--folks would say amen to all that, you don’t have any camel steak in your fridge, do you? (Audience laughs)

Jesus talked about those who would strain the water to get a gnat out but they eat camel and God said it’s unclean, right? So He said they’re hypocrites. But pig is a problem. You know a pig is, pig is pork. In North America--yeah, see, na--now mad pig disease. I--I know some of these stuff are just absolutely shocking, that’s why I showed it to you, trying to get a reaction.

In North--a mad pig disease that had to just slaughter them by the thousands and they’re full of trichina. In North America a real, whole lot of pork. You know there’s a lot of people in the world, not only would the Arabs won’t touch it, Bible Christians won’t touch it, the Jews, Orthodox Jews, won’t touch it. There’s a reason for that and it is not a religious reason.

One of the first things the doctor will tell you if you’re having some health problems and heart disease is not to eat the animal products that are the highest in nitrates, and salt, and fat. And pork wins the award every time. The advertisers are very clever. As people in North America became more health conscious, they realized that pork sales were dropping so they started to advertise it as “the other white meat,” (Audience laughs) which is really dishonest advertising. Just because it’s pale does not mean you can compare it to chicken and fish. And so it was very clever advertising, it is probably one of the most lethal meats that people eat in North America. Now I’ll say more about that in a minute.

Some of you have seen this pyramid before that is (uh) published by the (uh)--various health institutes go by this pyramid. They say when you eat you ought to eat starting at the bottom of the pyramid; the greatest quantity, this ought to make up the bulk of your diet. As you move your way up you find those things. The bottom you gonna find your grains, your pastas, (uh) your--your nuts and things, and then you go up you’ve got your fruits and your vegetables, and you go up a little higher you got your dairy products, and at the top you’ve got your sugar and your oils. And (uh) I think they ought to just cut the top off that (Laughs) pyramid and you’ll live a lot longer, amen?

But (uh) people in America have the pyramid upside down. Now I know what I’m talking about. The reason I get animated about this is I learned the hard way. Don’t laugh but this is Pastor Doug. (Audience laughs) I think--I don’t know I was 19 years old. No, that’s not a wig. (Audience laughs) I actually had a business—I told you not to laugh. (Laughs) I actually had a business where I sold steak. I would buy sections of beef, that’s where the home was in (uh) Cathedral city and I would drive around the desert cities and (uh) I had a cooler in the back of that Volkswagen and I would butcher sections of beef, I’d buy directly from the--the (uh) butchers, and I butcher ‘em into steaks, and I would sell them. And I’d started doing this after I lived up in the mountains, in the cave.

Now when I lived in the cave I was the healthiest I had ever been in my life by accident. See, I grew up with just atrocious health habits. I mean my mom was a good cook but you know she fed me the way that she learned to eat. And--and (uh) we used to drink alcohol with our meals and my brother and I frequently went to school and our breakfast was Twinkies (uh) drown it down with coffee and tea, I’m talking about 7-8-9-10 years old. And (uh) didn’t have the—the very best living habits.

And then I ran away, ended up in the mountains, and when I was up in the mountains I had no refrigerator. And so I didn’t have any meat cause it wouldn’t keep. Very rarely, I did eat when I went to town. I had to eat things like beans and rice and--and I’d get the bananas from the market and make banana bread when they were day old they’d give ‘em to me, or when they were getting spotted, make good bren--banana bread then.

And (uh) can’t take canned food up there cause it’s too heavy; carry cans, you get one meal per can, it was expensive. So I was forced to eat better. I was drinking mountain spring water, fresh air, exercise. And for the first time in my life, my head began to clear up and that was when God decided to put a Bible in my path. (Audience says “Amen”) It started to register with me and I don’t know if I ever would have been able to appreciate it.

Now I go back down to town and I know I was better off with this (uh) healthy diet but I started selling steaks because it was lucrative and I started eating it three times a day. I mean I did eat it three times a day. And I used to sit down after--I would eat New York steak for breakfast—steak and eggs, fillet minion for lunch, T-bone for dinner—I’d a voracious appetite back then, I’d never could gain weight back then. And then I’d down it with a quart of ice cream at night. I’ve cut back to a pint now—(Audience laughs) but (uh) not really. (Audience laughs)

But (uhm) I felt awful. There’s a scientific word for it I felt yucky. (Audience laughs) And you know and then I started to try to incorporate, I--I gave up the meat business, I started eating well again, and I noticed a radical difference, and I became a vegetarian. Some of you may know I’m a Seventh-day Adventist if you haven’t figured that out, but before I ever joined the church, just because of what I learned.

I remember when I was selling meat I went to my butcher friend that was a supplier and I used to sell beef. And someone said, “Doug, can you get me some grade A pork”? I used to sell--wholesale (uh) grade A corn-fed beef. And (uh) he laughed at me said, “Doug, you don’t know anything do you”? I said, “Why”? “You can’t get grade A pork, they don’t grade it that way.”

They said the US Department of Agriculture issues pamphlets telling you if you gonna eat pork to make sure and cook it well cause it’s got this trichina larvae. And you--some of you heard not too long ago they said that (uh) when microwaves first came out they were really worried because it wasn’t cooking things evenly. You know how microwave works, it has hot spots in it and people were eating the pork where it hadn’t killed all the parasites and trichina larvae and they’re having these outbreaks of trichinosis.

Not just the pork, (uh) we’ve heard about the E. coli threat and I think some of us are aware that (uh) there have been some cases now or even mad cow disease in North America, right? We’re better off following what God said. I don’t know some of you are saying, “Oh, but Pastor Doug, God designed the human digestive system to eat meat that’s why we’ve got these canine teeth right here. It’s because we’ve descended from the carnivorous animals and we are supposed to be meat eaters.” Oh, really? This guy got canines too. (Audience laughs) He’s a vegetarian. Some of the biggest animals in the world; the elephant, hippo, the giraffe, I don’t know I know they’re not all your role models but (Audience laughs) they’re vegetarians. And that ought to tell us something.

Now what about the animals in the ocean? It says: “These you shall eat of all that are in the waters, whatever has fins and scales then you shall eat.” Of the sea creatures that (uh) people might obtain it needed a couple of characteristics: it needed fins and it needed scales. If it didn’t have those two things God said don’t eat it.

You know it’s interesting the Navy did some research for years where they were trying to find a rule of thumb for sailors that might be stranded in a life raft or stuck on an island because a ship went down so they could know what sea life they could eat because obviously, there’s so many different creatures that you can’t remember them all. And so you know what they came up after all this study, you know what the Navy came up with? Tell them if it has fins and scales it’s probably safe, otherwise don’t eat it. (Audience laughs) Isn’t that interesting? God is really smart and the Bible is true.

What about among the birds? Oh, and that of course would eliminate your--your--your shrimp, and your catfish, and your shark, and your oysters. Those things—every one of those things I just listed are scavengers. I used to—oh, I loved lobster. I used to catch them. We go spear ‘em. You know how to use a lobster trap? You get something dead and decomposing, you put it in the cage, the lobster crawls in, he can’t get out; they’re scavengers. God does not want us eating scavengers. Pigs are scavengers, right? Catfish, where do they swim? On the bottom! Sharks—scavengers, they don’t have fins and scales. People always come up to me and they say, “Please, tell me tuna has scales.” Yeah, they have scales, they’re little bitty scales, but tuna does have scales.

What about the birds? “Every raven after his kind, and the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind…” Basically, the birds that were birds of prey were unclean, the cl--the clean animals, the clean birds were the foraging birds, the ones that go around and peck the seeds like the turkey and the (uh) chicken, and (uh) dove and quail, pigeons are clean. Go to Washington DC you’ll have plenty to eat, right? (Audience laughs) So…I wouldn’t eat them though.

DB—Sermon Question #6: Number six. Some of you are thinking, “Oh, but Pastor Doug, I like pork, will God destroy me if I eat pork? I mean is it (uh) is it a salvation matter”?

Let me just read the Bible to you. Oh, first I wanna say will there be people in heaven that ate pork? Yeah, (uh) there’s a lot of folks that just didn’t know any better. But God gives a message to His people that have the Bible and He said you should know better.

Reading to you from Isaiah 66 verse 17, verse 15 through 17: “For, behold, the Lord will come,” speaking of the coming of the Lord, right? “With fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury; they that sanctify themselves,” are they sanctified by the Lord or themselves? “Purify themselves,” they say we’re pure we prayed over it, God’s cleansed it, “eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, will be consumed together.” Puts--consumed together says the Lord puts the mouse, the rats, and the pigs in the same category. And there’s a lot of Christians that think, “But I’ve prayed over it.” God is not mocked, don’t be deceived, what you sow you’re going to reap.

A little more about pork, people struggle with this so I wanna make my point. When it comes to trichina, when the muscle tissue containing trichina cyst are eaten by humans, they’re in the (uh) contaminated pork—not all pork has trichina but a lot of it does and that’s why they say cook it good. They’re in a cyst that is very hard to kill, that’s why they say you gotta cook it good. When it’s eaten by humans, the cyst are digested in the stomach, release the larvae, they migrate to the intestine, begin a new life cy--cycle. Female trichina worms live about six weeks and then that time they may release 15,000 larvae. The migration and encystment of larvae can cause fever, pain, death. It’s very hard to diagnose because it sometimes manifests itself as aches and pains in the joints. It’s been diagnosed many times as arthritis and bursitis; in reality what the people had was “hogitis.” (Audience laughs) They didn’t know it. (Audience laughs)

I heard, and I you know I--something I need to tell you I can’t find the quote but I remember reading somewhere that they have done some autopsies and in some districts of North America they found that one out of five cadavers had evidence of trichina infection of people. A lot of people get it and they don’t even know it. And they wonder what; they’re taking all these drugs for the symptoms, and it’s cause they’re eating pork that was contaminated.

And I know some of you think, “Well, we work to bring home the bacon, right”? (Audience laughs) There’s a man bringing home the bacon. (Laughs) And I tell you I’ve been around the world and they eat some strange things out there. You know they eat snakes. Some parts of the world I know it breaks your heart to think of it, they eat puppies. Oh listen to you. (Audience laughs) You know dogs and pigs biblically, are the same category, isn’t that right? “Given out that which is holy unto the--the do--(uh) swine, don’t cast your pearls before the swine; don’t give out that which is holy to the dogs.” “Like a dog who returns to its vomit and the swine to wallowing in the mire.” They’re always listed together. They’re scavengers. Pigs might make nice pets, I don’t have problem with that, just don’t eat them, right?

Newsweek, September 6, 1999. A few years ago one nutritionist said bacon wasn’t technically a meat anymore, it didn’t belong to any food group at all, it was a salty, nitrate ridden, fat lid--laden carcinogenic thing. (Audience laughs) People that really know what’s going on it’s just really (uh) it’s abominable that we eat this.

And I know some of you are gonna quote to me and I’ll spend more time on this. I Timothy 4:4. “Pastor Doug, doesn’t it say every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving and prayer”? Meaning every creature: you can eat monkey brains, you can eat cockroaches, you can eat--every creature of God is good, is that what Paul is saying? No! This is a terribly misapplied scripture. Because if you believe that, you can just pray over something and God will bless it cause you prayed over—sanctifying themselves, purifying themselves. God says He’ll destroy those who think that they’ve got that power to mock God. He tells you it’s bad and you say but I’m gonna pray over it.

How many of you would accept that logic from your children? Getting their own breakfast, they take their sugar-frosted flakes and their fruit loops, and they pour them in the bowl, and then they put 14 teaspoon of sugar and a little maple syrup on top, and a scoop of ice cream on that, and you say, wooh, way, what do you doing? And they say don’t worry I’m getting ready to ask God to bless it. (Audience laughs)

How many of you parents out there would accept that from your children? You’d say that’s ridiculous, we know that’s an awful food, awful way to start the day, am I right? But you’ll use that same argument when you happen to like it yourself! That’s hypocrisy. When God says it is filthy, it is abominable; we need to believe what God says. Amen?

DB—Sermon Question #7: Number seven. But didn’t this law of clean and unclean animals originate at Mount Sinai wasn’t it for the Jews only and didn’t it end at the Cross?

Well, what does it say about Noah? How many here are related to Noah? Let me see your hands. Everybody should raise their hands here; we’re all related to Noah. (Audience laughs) If you’re not related to Noah then UFOs exist, I guess. (Audience laughs)

When God told Noah about taking the animals on the ark, he said you’re to take them with you by sevens; seven of every clean animal, two of the animals that are unclean. Now Noah never says Lord, what do you mean clean and unclean? Because Noah knew what God was talking about, right? He never--there’s no explanation because Noah knew.

Any animal that was clean for sacrifice was clean for food. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. They were allowed to sacrifice goats, and sheep, and oxen, and cows, and it could be a deer, or an elk, or something like that, but if they ever sacrificed a pig to the Lord it was considered the highest insult. That’s what the Romans did when they wanted to offend the Jews. They brought a pig into the temple and sacrificed. The Romans did it, Antiochus Epiphanes did it; your body’s the temple of the Holy Spirit. We shouldn’t be putting unclean sacrifices in this holy temple. Not only is it an insult to the manufacturer, amen? (Audience answers “Amen”) but also bad for your health. And your stomach is not any different than the stomach of a Jew. If you are gonna use that (uh) that excuse, right?

Look what happened to the life expectancy. Each of those lines represents a hundred years. The life expectancy of Seth, Methuselah, Noah, before the flood, after the flood, when all the vegetation is destroyed there are fewer varieties of fruits, and vegetables, and grains, and nuts. Man is eating more meat, life stan--span begins to plummet. I think there’s a direct correlation, friends. There may have been some other environmental changes but it had also to do with the way man was eating.

Oh someone’s gonna say, “What about Peter’s vision”? Acts chapter 10, you read Acts chapter 10 you’ll understand this better. God gives a vision of a sheet that comes down from heaven it’s full of all kinds of creepy things and God says to Peter, “Arise, and eat.” And notice what Peter says and this happens oh three and a half years after Jesus has ascended to heaven. Peter says, “Not so Lord, I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” After three and a half years with Jesus he had not received the slightest impression it was okay to eat anything unclean.

Three times the sheet comes down, three times God says: “Arise and eat,” three times Peter says no, you’ve commanded me not to do this, I don’t understand why would you tell me to eat these creepy, unclean animals? The sheet comes up to heaven. He never eats anything out of the sheet. Peter’s wondering what the vision means and then some Gentiles show up and say preach the gospel to us. And the Jews thought the Gentiles were unclean.

Peter later says he knows what the vision means. Acts chapter 10:28. “God has shown me that I should not call any man,” M-A-N, that’s an interesting way to spell pig, (Audience laughs) doesn’t say not call any pig unclean, “I should not call any man common or unclean.” That’s what the vision mean--meant; had nothing to do with food, nothing that’s even eaten that day, amen? Terribly misapplied! Some people are very biblically dishonest with the way they apply that--that (uh) vision. Peter tells you exactly what it meant.

As I said before the reason we’re in the mess that we’re in now is because God said, “Thou shalt not eat it.” What was the first temptation the devil brought to Jesus? Wasn’t it regarding eating something? Turn these stones into bread and eat them. And Jesus got the victory in that as the first temptation as an example for you and me that if we don’t learn to bridle our mouths both what comes in and what goes out, right? We need to get a--a grip on our tongue. It’s amazing how these little six ounce members control 200 lbs. of body. We live for it.

Now some people think that the tree of good and evil that Adam and Eve ate from was an apple, right? I know what it was. You know what it was? (Audience laughs) It was a chocolate tree (Audience still laughing) I’m almost sure. (Audience laughs)

DB—Sermon Question #8: Number eight. Does the Bible forbid the use of alcoholic beverages?

Oh, quite a bit. Proverbs 20 verse 1. It tells us: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Now I wanna (uh) clarify something here for you. The word “wine” in the Bible is used to cover not only the fermented grape juice but also the new grape juice. It says in Isaiah 65, as the new wine is in the cluster. Jesus talks about the gospel as being new wine. New wine is unfermented, right? That’s what comes right out of the vat when they crush the grapes, it’s not fermented yet. The word “wine” is used for both. It’s a derivative of the word “vine.” And so any fruit or juice of the vine was called “wine,” biblically. It’s the old classic word that’s used.

In our culture whenever we say you want some wine? We call it grape juice when it’s not fermented, they didn’t do that back then. So when Jesus at the wedding feast made those six (uh) jars of stone and filled them with water and then turned it into wine, it was not booze because they said you saved the best for last. It was fresh grape juice for a wedding. Jesus wouldn’t make booze to get all those people intoxicated. I mean that’s not how He operates. It’s also a symbol of His blood. The bread was to be unleavened; the wine was to be unfermented because Jesus says in the book of Matthew: “I will not drink it again till I drink it with you new in My Father’s kingdom.” His gospel is compared to new wine, His blood is unfermented. Fermentation is a process of something corrupting and it should never be equated with the blood of Jesus.

I know some people who struggle with alcoholism. I’ve heard that as many as (uh) I’ve heard everything from (uh) 40 percent of people who drink become problem drinkers. One out of seven people that drinks become an alcoholic. And I would like to ask if you had a dog that bit 1 out of 7 people that came to your house would you keep it? If nothing else even if you would have put aside everything in the Bible just because of our knowledge of a hundred and twenty billion dollars that drinking causes our country every year. And so many people struggle with this and it’s an addiction.

I used to get so angry at my father. He cracked down on my brothers and I cause we were smoking pot. He came home drunk every night. I was easier to live with high on pot than he was on alcohol. I’m just being honest. It seemed like hypocrisy to me. It just was his drug of choice, it is a drug and it is addictive, highly addictive, do we all know that?

I’ve got a friend who (uh) was alcoholic, been dry for years, went to a church where this particular church they actually use fermented grape juice in their communion service. And he took some and took that and he said that was all it took, he started drinking again after he left church. That’s an awful thing to go to church and get hooked again. I mean why would Christian support that?

More, Luke 1 verse 15. “Behold thou shall conceive and bear a son and now drink no wine or strong drink,” the mother of Samson was commanded. She had the strongest man that ever lived, right? The most spirit-filled man, the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist said the same thing. (Uh) In Luke 1:15: “For he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Ghost.” I think in a previous verse I meant to read Judges. Here it contrasts with John the Baptist; don’t give him wine or strong drink because I want him full of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says that we should not drink wine which is dissipation but rather be filled with the Spirit. You can have both. You’ve heard the expression going to the liquor store to get some spirits? And they do get spirits too. Evil spirits! Have you seen them before? People have a few drinks—and the resistance in the mind to those forces of evil are lower—then they become very carnal and do things when they are drunk they would never do.

I lived with the Navajos where virtually all of them are born alcoholics, they may not drink but they’re born with that tendency. If they (uh) you know I lived there, my uncle was there 40 years, lived in the Reservation. My Navajo friends don’t mind my sharing this. They know it’s true. My uncle said in all the time that he’d lived in the Reservation he never knew a Navajo that would open a bottle, take a drink, put the lid back on and put it away. He says they always drink until they’re out of money, out of alcohol, or passed out.

And I used to pastor a Navajo church. And what would it do to my congregation if they heard that Pastor Doug only drinks one glass of wine a week? By my example I would destroy their lives. Paul says I will do nothing that will make my brothers stumble. So any Christian out there that says he’s really a Christian if you think it’s okay to drink a little wine when you know how destructive the drug is for other people—and there’s so many other good things to drink. We ought to be eating, drinking, to the glory of God, amen? (Audience answers “Amen”) Shouldn’t be drinking alcohol, it’s a drug.

“Look down not upon wine,” don’t even look at it, “when it’s red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent.” Who’s that a symbol of? The devil! “And stings like an adder. Your eyes will behold strange women,” the Bible says. A lot of marriages have been defiled because somebody got drunk and made some bad decisions; office party. “Neither fornicators nor drunkards shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

DB—Sermon Question #9: Number nine. Does the Bible condemn the use of tobacco?

Well, does the word “tobacco” appear in the Bible? They didn’t have it back then. Matter of fact, it’s amazing that you--when you even try to comprehend how Sir Walter Raleigh was able to sell this on intelligent people, brings it back from North America and says I found something great. What is it? Tobacco. Ooh, what do you do? Well, here it is; it’s these leaves. You ignite them and you inhale the smoke. Why? Makes you dizzy. (Audience laughs)

And you’ll get to the place where you can’t stop doing it. You’ll spend lots of money you don’t have to keep doing it. There’s absolutely no benefit to smoking. It is just a waste of money, it destroys your health, and now we know—I mean there was a day when doctors actually recommended it—now we know it kills you. Doesn’t the Bible say in one of the commandments “Thou shalt not kill,” would that include your self?

How many would agree that (uh) suicide is a sin? So if you went home and you drank a bottle of poison that would be suicide. That’s killing yourself, you’re murdering; it’s self-murder, alright? What if you know that poison takes five days before it kills you is it still suicide if you know that it’s gonna take five days? What if it takes 20 years but you know it’s poison? It’s still suicide!

I used to smoke, friends. I know what a struggle it is. Pudding is really not hard I did that a hundred times. (Audience laughs) Staying quit is a little harder, amen? And I should mention that following our program tonight I’m gonna have special prayer, those who are the group leaders I hope you’ll do the same. Any of you here that are struggling with any of these issues or any kind of addiction I’ll meet you in the back, we’ll have special prayer together, and (uh) w--we’ll give you some tools that will help you get the victory, amen? (Audience answers “Amen”)

Tobacco is the second most costly drug addiction in North America—the first being what? Alcohol! Should a Christian smoke? Obviously, not! I know some people do it cause they think it makes them look chic and cool. And (uh) they don’t wanna miss out on trying to impress their friends with how cool they are. (Audience laughs) In my opinion, it lowers your perceived IQ. The Bible says there will be nothing in the kingdom of God that defiles, you think that folks are gonna be going up and down those golden streets with a lot of tobacco in their lip and spitting that on the--it’s filthy, amen? (Audience says “Amen”) And it’s addictive!

There’s a lady that smoking 12 cigarettes at one time. I don’t know why. Cigarettes are highly addictive. It has some of the same effects as heroin and cocaine. And it can be--you know for me it was easier to give up drugs and alcohol, cigarettes was the last thing I really struggle with. I’ve--I mean there are still things that I struggle with I’m talking about these addictive substan—substances. And it was terrible! But God gave me the victory and He can give it to you.

I’m just wondering turn the camera around, Doug, in the studio, turn the camera around. How many of you used to smoke and God has given you the victory, let me see your hands? Praise God! Can you say amen? (Audience clapping) If He did it for these people, He can do it for you, friends.

DB—Sermon Question #10: Number ten. What are some of the simple yet very important health laws found in the Bible?

We’re gonna race through some very simple things in the corresponding scriptures:

A. Quarantine procedures control contagious disease. You know the Bible says that in Leviticus. That’s what stopped the bubonic plague. They finally opened the Bible and learned about contagious disease and quarantine. Isolation.

Answer B. Simple things like human body waste should be buried. You know I’ve been in parts of the world—you know in most parts of the world (uh) better be careful what I say. (Audience laughs) I see my wife and mother-in-law nodding, they know me. Most parts of the world there are places that are designated as the bathroom. There are some parts of the world that are just a few places that are not the bathroom. That’s how I’ll say it. And it’s just, it is awful! And God said very clearly in the Bible—sanitation, made it real plain.

Also, answer C. Washing the body and clothing helps control germs. You know that—destroying pots and things that were contaminated. God gave those sanitation laws.

The Bible talks about moral living helps prevent disease. Do we need to know that today? Yeah, if we follow these Biblical standards of purity in saving ourselves for the marriage vow, wouldn’t bring into these relationships diseases that were obtained by goofing off.

Answer E. Animal fat and blood I should add, biblically, should not be eaten. And you know what? So much of the diseases from the oils; cholesterol is animal fat. Science is supporting what God has told us all along.

Answer F. Hatred and bitterness are detrimental to one’s health. A lot of people are sick not because of what they’re eating but because of what’s eating them! At dashes or anger, they don’t know about forgiving and it is a real struggle.

I think we all know about overeating, how harmful that can be. All things should be done in moderation. We eat copious amounts of food.

Answer H. Our bodies need proper rest. This is part of the purpose for the Sabbath day. God is reminding us that we need to rest in our stressful society.

Answer I. Getting healthful activity. We’re such a sedentary people that if wasn’t for the remote control and now they got it you know on your steering wheel you wouldn’t wanna have to reach over and turn the volume down on the radio, they got it right on the steering wheel where you don’t have to move. (Audience laughs)

Answer J. Positive attitude is good medicine. Happy heart does good like a medicine. It--you can nurture a positive attisude--attitude.

Answer K, the parents’ habits will affect the children. We need to remember that and keep that in consideration.

DB—Sermon Question #11: Number 11. What solemn reminder is given to those who ignore God’s rules?

Very serious, God says, I Corinthians 3 verse 16: “You are the temple of God, if any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” If we persist in treating these bodies like they are just objects to bring us physical pleasure despite how we’re destroying them, there’s plenty of pleasures in life that are approved by God without the ones that are condemned.

And those that are defiling their bodies, God says—it’s--you’ve been bought with a price, you belong to God. He paid for you. “Your body,” (uh) I Corinthians 6 verse 19 and 20, “is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, glorify God in your body.” Glorify Him in what you eat and what you drink. Amen? Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked. “Whatsoever a man sows he will also reap.” If you sow a lot of calories and a lot of cholesterol you gonna reap a heart attack and a lot of extra weight.

There was a very controversial video, this man—I’ve not seen it but I’ve heard about it, called “Super Size Me.” Morgan Spurlock, a 33 year old healpy—healthy man, wondered what would happen if he ate nothing but fast food, nothing but fast food for 30 days—nearly killed him. Liver looked like that of an alcoholic, gained, I forg… nearly 30 pounds in weight, and was hallucinating, and mood swings, and all kinds of health problems. Doctors pled with him to break off the experiment before he killed himself. All he was d--e--doing is eating fast food at the more popular restaurants.

National Geographic from (uh) August 2004, whole issue was dealing with fat. This is a quote now from that: “For all the Americans who blame the bulging bellies on a slow metabolism the jig is up. A report earlier this year by the centers of Disease Control and Prevention finally confirms what many of us did not want to admit: we’re fat because we eat a lot—(Audience laughs) a whole lot more than we used to eat.”

And most of the increase comes from carbohydrates. Look at this: adult women are now eating three hundred and thirty-five more calories than they did just in 1971. While adult men lived up their end take a hundred and sixty-eight calories during that time.

We have such great abundance and God has blessed us and we’re abusing that and it’s killing us. And the fast food lifestyle and the sedentary life we’re passing this on to our children. Before I--I leave this subject I should also talk about the National Geographic also had an article on caffeine on one of their recent editions. It is the most popular addictive drug. And a lot of people never drink water if it doesn’t, if it’s not soda pop, or cola, or coffee, or tea, they don’t drink it. They’ve--they’re constantly going through these mood swings because they’re drinking copious amounts of this addictive drug.

Keep in mind you don’t become addicted to any thing that is good for you. Amen? And if you start shaking and someone says what’s wrong I haven’t had a banana whole day? (Audience laughs) That--that n--never happens. (Audience still laughing) Men don’t wake up in the middle of the night and wife says: where are you going? I’ve gotta go to the store. Why? I--I’ve just got to have some broccoli. (Audience laughs) You only get addicted to those things that are not good for you. Amen?

The Bible says, “For I, the Lord your God, Am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me but showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” What this means is a lot of times family seem to have heart disease and a lot of these problems and some of it is hereditary but more times than not what the kids have inherited is the lifestyle they grew up with from their parents.

Jack LaLanne’s father died when he was a young man from heart disease and then he went to church and he saw a man in his sixties doing back hand springs across the stage. And it turned his life around and in spite of his inherited tendency he started taking care of himself.

I heard that one day and I thought well, maybe it will help people impress the health message if I did a back hand spring when I preached about the health message. Now I’m not 60 but I’m pushing 50. If I did a back hand spring for you how many here would be willing to say they would try vegetarianism, is there any? (Audience laughs)

Now I should say any of you see me do this in 1999? Until today that was the last one. So will you pray for me? (Audience laughs) I’m serious! This is live (Audience clapping) television. (Audience still clapping) I’ll get John to come up here and help.

John Lomacang: This is--this is--this is amazing, he’s Jewish he gave me his wallet. (Audience laughs) (Audience clapping)

DB: Alright. I’m a grandfather; three grandchildren, one on the way. (Audience laughs)

John Lomacang: I’m hearing all kinds of things cracking up here, (Audience laughing) I’m just--I’m just wondering what the outcome is going to be. In your heart you may wanna start repeating the--you know some kind of Bible text or something. (Audience laughs)

“There shall in no wise enter anything into the kingdom that defiles,” and that means that anything we’re doing defiling, “they will take away the d--detestable things thereof.” Ezekiel 11 verse 18 through 20.

DB—Sermon Question #14: Number 14. What should every sincere Christian do at once?

Romans 12:1. This is my appeal for you, friends. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice which is acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.” God has purchased you by redemption. He’s also purchased you by creation. He owns you. And you know what? It’s like any parent, He’s pleading for you to have ab--an abundant, prosperous life.

Now I--I don’t wanna close this message without making something clear. All of us have health problems. I am not immune, I’ve got hay fever. And--and different people struggle. I’m not saying that if you eat everything right, you’re never gonna get sick, you’re never gonna have a health problem, but it’ll be so much better, even the people in Hansa get old and die, right?

But you could do so much better to have a longer life and a more abundant life. And you know the bottom line is why I teach this? Christians should love God supremely and love his neighbor. You cannot serve God as well when your bodies are sick, you cannot serve your neighbor as well when you’re sick, it does something to your witness. And so there are some things that are unavoidable but there’s a lot of sickness among God’s people that we don’t need if we would follow what He says in His word. We could experience much better health, longer life, more effective life, our minds would be clear. God wants you to have that, friends. Do you want that?

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God wants you to present your bodies a living sacrifice. You know we can’t do anything without Jesus. But the promise is that through Christ, what? All things are possible. Yes you can! What He did for me to help me quit drinking, that help me quit smoking, and the--and the drugs and the things, He can do it for you. And by your example you can save your children. They’re watching.

Would you like to say Lord, take my life, take my body, take my mind, is that your prayer? Those who are watching He wants you to get the victory. After I pray with you here tonight, and I hope at our various sites your group leaders will meet with you and have special prayer as well.

Loving Lord, dear Father, we know that you desperately want us to enjoy abundant life. Jesus came to heal our diseases and you wanna bring us to a place where there is no more sickness, death, or sorrow, or pain. Help us to do all we can to cooperate with your principles, to have that life begin here and now. Thank you, Lord, for hearing this prayer cause we come in the name of your Son. Amen.